Better buses, please

KARACHI: For years the University of Karachi has been facing a major problem of not having enough buses to transport its students to and from campus. I know it is not possible to provide transport to over 24,000 students but I want to draw the attention of government authorities towards the university’s ‘point’ buses. They are overloaded and in terrible condition, a majority of them are as old as 30 years. The seats are made of steel and in the summer they are impossible to sit on – there are no cushions. Also, due to heat and overcrowding students on these buses have fainted.

Now that it’s Ramazan, no point buses are being run in the evening and this means that the load in the morning buses is immense. This is something that the university’s administration needs to look into, not least because students pay for these services. Also, overcrowding has a dangerous aspect – which is that in the past some students have been injured or even killed because some have had no choice but to hang by the door.

I kindly request the government and university officials to add and replace point buses so the students can feel secure in better transport facilities.

S Wajahat Hasan

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2010.